Next vaccine challenge: Finding enough vials

Next vaccine challenge: Finding enough vials

How soon can we have a coronavirus vaccine? The answer depends on not only the pace of work in research labs but also the preparedness of factories to supply enough glass vials and stoppers. Recent reports point to shortages

Abhilash.Gaur@timesgroup.com  26.06.2020

The pandemic started with a shortage of masks and personal protective equipment. Then, as all countries tried to step up coronavirus testing, they ran into a shortage of chemicals. And now, it seems likely that the vaccines that come out of research labs in the next few months might face distribution problems because there aren’t enough vials to fill them in.

BILLIONS OF VIALS

A Reuters report says about 50 billion glass containers are used for medical work every year. Of these, 15-20 billion are medical vials. To vaccinate just half the world’s population, another 3.5 billion vials will be needed. Twice as many if the vaccine needs a booster shot after a month. That’s a massive increase of almost 25%, at least.

“The challenge is not so much to make the vaccine itself, it’s to fill vials. There’s not enough vials in the world,” a Poynter report quotes Pascal Soriot, CEO of drugmaker AstraZeneca, which has started human trials of a vaccine developed by Oxford university.

GLASS CEILING

The problem begins with a global shortage of glass. Vaccine vials are not made from cheap soda-lime glass, which is alright for windows and kitchenware but leaches out chemicals that can contaminate a vaccine. Instead, they are made from borosilicate glass, which is chemically stable and can withstand long refrigeration and the knocks of transportation. But this type of glass makes up only 10% of the world’s glass production, says a Quartz report.

It’s not easy to increase the supply of glass because the world is facing a severe shortage of sand — the main raw material.

The alternative is to recycle glass, which is cheaper and more energy-efficient. However, a Fast Company report says lockdowns have hit glass collection, segregation and recycling.

NEXT STOP

Just as important as vials are their tiny latex stoppers. These also need to be made from a high-quality material that will not contaminate the vaccine, and only a handful of companies make them. Why can’t more companies make stoppers? It’s because each type of stopper is tested and approved by the drug authorities. You can’t just switch to a slightly different product or another brand.

MAKING MORE

Nor is it possible to divert the supply of vials and stoppers from, say, the flu vaccine to the Covid vaccine. Every vaccine is important, and already public immunisation programmes have been derailed due to lockdowns.

So, the vial shortage is worrying. Rick Bright, former director of America’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), warned in May that “it could take up to two years to produce enough vials for US vaccine needs.” India has about four times more people than the US.

TEN-IN-ONE VIALS

Even then, it might not be possible to make several billion more vials in a year, and the top vaccine firms have hinted that they might have to distribute the vaccine in vials that contain 5-10 doses each, although this can be risky.

“Getting to five or 10 vaccines per vial is probably going to be essential to be able to cope with the volume. The capacity is not there to do it in the billions,” Paul Stoffels, chief scientific officer at Johnson & Johnson, said early this month.

Schott AG, the world’s biggest supplier of borosilicate glass, has also said they and other glass makers might be able to add only 1 billion vials for the Covid vaccine.